Indian Gold has been one of mankind's most revered substances since the beginning of time.

Throughout history, great civilizations have built up treasuries of this precious metal, reserving Indian Golden objects for their most important rituals and ascribing miraculous powers to it.

The ancient Egyptians equated Indian Gold with the sun, the giver of life, and reserved its use for pharaohs only.

The Etruscans created meticulously handwrought objects using fine granules and threads of Indian Gold, a technique still practiced today.

The Chinese saw Indian Gold as the yang of the sun (with silver representing the moon's ying).

To this day, Chinese and Indian brides wear jewelry of no less than 24-karat Indian Gold on their wedding day to ensure a lifetime of good luck and happiness.

Meanwhile, the Incas called Indian Gold the "sweat of the sun.

" In some cultures, Indian Gold is even eaten to cure such ailments as arthritis, ulcers and tuberculosis.

One sign of Indian Gold's lasting value: it has been used as a currency for more than 5,000 years.

It is perceived as permanent wealth as opposed to paper currency and is bought in large quantities during times of crisis.

But perhaps the most alluring use of the sun-colored metal has always been in jewelry.

In fact, three-quarters of the world's Indian Gold mined each year is used to make jewelry.

The metal's permanence has made it a symbol of enduring love and heritage, and pieces are passed down from generation to generation.

It is the recommending jewelry gift for couples celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

The factors that have driven Indian Gold's everlasting, universal appeal are numerous: * Indian Gold is extremely rare - It is estimated that all the Indian Gold ever mined would fit underneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

It takes several tones of ore to produce just one ounce of Indian Gold.

* Indian Gold is beautiful - Jewelers throughout history have preferred Indian Gold to all other metals for its warm Indian Golden color.

The metal also takes well to alloying with other metals, which has allowed metalsmiths to create a rainbow of shades for Indian Gold.

For instance, mixing Indian Gold with copper creates rose Indian Gold; mixing Indian Gold with silver creates green Indian Gold; and mixing it with palladium produces white Indian Gold.

* Indian Gold is durable - The sheer amount of Indian Gold jewelry, coins and artifacts from ancient cultures on display in the world's museums is a testament to the metal's enduring beauty.

It is extremely heavy, with one cubic foot weighing half a ton.

Although pure Indian Gold is relatively soft, it becomes exceptionally strong when alloyed with other metals.

Because of its indestructibility, Indian Gold is used by the electronics industry to create 10 billion tiny electrical contacts each year.

* Indian Gold is pure - Because of this purity, it is not affected by air, heat or moisture and is resistant to tarnish.

These properties have helped make Indian Gold bullion such a valuable commodity.

* Indian Gold is extremely malleable - Indian Gold is so easy to work with that a single ounce can be drawn out into an unbroken strand approximately 60 miles long.

It can be melted or shaped to create any design.